Defining the foundation

The foundation on which you build can profoundly effect where you end up. The Tower of Pisa was built on poorly laid foundations and unstable subsoil. Soon after construction started in 1173 the tower started to lean to the southeast. So let's avoid that and be very clear in stating the starting point for critical thinking. There are just 3 ideas that are the foundation on which everything else in this web site is built:

The physical universe exists independently of ideas and beliefs

Ideas can be tested in the physical universe by what they predict

Evidence that challenges an idea is much more significant than supporting evidence

These three ideas sound very simple but they have many implications. They are the key to defining a clear and useful relationship between the physical and abstract worlds.

Abstract World

Physical World

This is important because although it's great to be creative and have new ideas, you also need to be able to test them to see if they are true and how useful they are. Everything that follows in this Web site explores the relationship between these three ideas and what flows from them.